
LIBERTY ASJD LINCOLN. 



ADDRESS 



BEFORE 



THE YOUNG REPUBLICAN CLUB, 



OF 



GERMANTOWN, 



BY 



HON. CHARLES F. WARWICK, 



THURSDAY, FEB. 9, 1899. 



IN COMMEMORATION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S BIRTHDAY. 



LIBERTY AND LINCOLN. 
HDDReSS 

BEFORE 

THE YOUNG REPUBLICAN CLUB 

OF 

GERMANTOWN, 

BY 

HON. CHARLES F. WARWICK, 

Thursday, Feb. 9, 1889. 
In Commemoration of Abraham Lincoln's Birthday. 



The history of the world will show that Republics are 
Lorii of revolution, that they result from the overthrow 
of absolute and arbitrary power, or from the unjust and 
uuwan-anted exercise, by the few against the many, of 
privilege and prerogative. The American Republic is no 
exception to the rule. The immigTants who> came to the 
new world had escaped from the intolerance and tyranny 
of the old. They left their native lands, their homes and 
all the associations that are so dear and precious, to find 
and enjoy freedom in the Avildeniess. They brought with 
them a spirit of independence and a love of liberty. The 
Puritans in New England, the Quakere in Pennsylvania, 
the Catholics in Maiyland, the Hugiienots in the Caro- 
linas, settled in America to escape the religious persecu- 
tions of Europe. 

OCT SS ^^^^ 



These people were lojal to goveniment, having an in- 
nate love of i^eace and a deep respect for law, but they 
were most jealous of their rights, and most impatient 
under any foi-m of usiu-paticn. Affected by the spirit of 
the age, they were, however, often intolerant of the re- 
ligious and political opinions of others. 

The Colonies were settled when the English people, 
themsch-es, were endeavoring to establish in their govern- 
ment the principles of liberty. It was the period of the 
long stnig-gle between the people on one side and abso- 
lutism on the other. In the language of Thierry, "it was 
neither Charles Stuart nor OYiver Cromwell' who was 
concerned in the revolution of England; it was the Eng- 
lish nation and liberty;" it was a contest between the Com- 
mon Right of the People and the Divine Eight of Kings. 
"It was," as Guizot strongly states "the collision of the two 
great facts, to which in the coui-se of the Sixteenth Cen- 
tury, all the civilization of primitive Europe tended 

monarchy on the one hand and free inquiiy on the: other." 
The influence of this stniggle left a deep impress on 
the mind and thought of the new world. 

Prior to the American revolution, there were three' forms 
of government in the Colonies, "Eoyal," "Charter" and 
"Proprietary," and the battle for liberty was early begun, 
against the exercise, under these forms, of arbitraiy or 
unreasonable power. It was in Virginia, that the first 
straggle was made, when the people in 1635 deposed Sir 
Jotn Harvey the royal Governor, ' and sent him home to 
England, much to the disgust of King Charles the First. 
Bacon's rebellion against the mercenary spirit and the 
cruel, selfish and despotic power of Berkeley planted 
again, in the same province, the seeds of revolution. Sir 
Edmund Andros the Governor of New York and New 
England and tlie royal representative of James the Second, 
because of his tyranny, was deposed and imprisoned. In 



South Carolina the people overthrew the lords proprietors 
and placed tbeniselve.* directly under the government of 
the King. Wherever tliere was an exercise of power not 
wan-ant«d by the clmrtei-s, which were the people's title 
deed? to liberty, rebellion or revolution was the result. 
Thus were sown the seeds, that ultimately brought forth 
out of oppression, "a noble and puissant nation." 

The immediate causes that led to the Revolution ar^ 
too- well known to recount. 

George the Tliird and his ministers little understood 
the spirit and temper of the Colonists; they had drawn 
no lessons from the history of the past and gave no heed 
to the waniings of (Jhatham, Burke, Fox and Barre who 
saw clearly with the vision of prophets what was sure to 



occur. 



Tt was in ITfiO, that Colonel Barre exchuiiicd. "1 ]n-<)pli(- 
sied on passing the Stamp Act what would liappen thereon; 
and I now fear and I can prophesy furtlicr troubles; that, 
if the people are made desperate, finding no remedy from 
Parliament, the whole Continent will be in arms, imme- 
diately, and perhaps those i>rovinccf lost to England for^ 
ever." 

Continued oppression only hastened the day of deliver- 
ance. Blindly, ignorantly, obstinately, tlir ministry and 
Parliament persisted in a course of injustice, and at times 
made matters worse, by adding insult to injury. So dull, 
so stupid, so blind to their own interests were they, 
that one is forced to believe, that Destiny had decreed 
the separation, and that the mini-sters were only in- 
struments, in the hands of Providence, to bring about 
the event. The eloquent and impressive words of Burke 
had no effect upon the minds of such men, they were lost 
to reason and every sentiment of justice. "My hold," he 
said, "of the colonies is in the close affection which grows 
from common names, from kindred blood, from similax 



privilciics, nn.l (Miual protection. These are ties whieli, 
thoiigli light iis air, are strong as links of iron. Let the 
Colonies ahvavs keep the idea of their civil rights asso 
siated with Your government; they will cling and gxapple 
to yon, and" no fotce under heaven, will he of power to 
tear them from their alleg-iance. But let it he once iinder- 
stoocl that vour government may be one thing and thei,r 
privileges another —that these two things may exist with- 
out any mutual relation,— the cement is gone, the cohe- 
sion is loosened, and everything hastens to decay and dis- 
solution." 

Before the oi^eulim of the TveYolntion the Colonies had 
considerahlv advanced in civilization, the communities 
were intelligent and liheity loving. The University of 
Pennsvlvania, Harvard, Yale and Princeton Colleges had 
been early established and were already seats of learning. 
Philadelphia, the leading city in America, had a popula- 
tion of about thirty thousand, while Boston and New York 
were not far behind. 

The representatives who composed the Congress that 
met in Philadelphia in 1776, were men of exceptional 
ability and in many instances of the highest order of in- 
tellect in fact their wisdom and bearing, under the most 
trvino-' circumstances, commanded the resi>ect of even then- 
enemies. Bartlett and Whipple, from New Hampshire; 
Samuel and John Adams and Hancock, from Massachu- 
setts; Hopkins, from Rhode Island; Roger Shei-man, from 
Connecticut; Li^•ingston, from New York; W itherspoon 
and Hopkinson, from New Jersey; Morris, Rush and 
Franklin, from Pennsylvania; Rodney, Read and Mc- 
Kean, from Delaware; Can-oil, from Maryland; Jeffei-son 
and Lee, from Virginia; Penn, Rutledg. and Middleton 
from the Carolinas; Gwynett, Hall and Walton, from 
Georoia, were members of this CongTess, and the 
• mention of their names will give an idea of the 



strength of that most distinguished body. If we iuhl 
to this list George Washington, Patrick Henry, Peyton 
Randolph, John Jay, Charles Thomson and John 
Dickinson, who were delegates to the First Continental 
Congress of 1774, we may then appreciate the courage, 
the patriotism and the wisdom of the men, who led the 
cause of independence. To their charge were committed 
the liberties of the people, these were the men who agned 
and sealed the title deeds of a nation's liberty. 

A common danger had united the Colonies in a 
common defense. They fully undei-stood in all its 
meaning the step they were about to take. "We 
are not to hope," said Quincy, in 1774, "that we shall 
end tliis controvei-sy wathont the shai-pest, sharpest 
conflicts. We are not to flatter ourselves that popular 
resolves, popular harangiies, popular acclamations and 
popular vapor will vanquish our foes. Let us weigh and 
consider before we advance to these measin'es which mnst 
bring on the most ti-ying and tei-rible stiiiggle this conn- 
try ever saw." 

Every eifort was made to avoid the conflict. There; is 
no state paper in our language, with which I am familiar, 
that is finncr in its terms and yet so affectionate and 
pathetic in its tone, as that appeal issued by the Congress 
of 1774 to the people of Gi-eat Britain. "Permit ns," the 
paper reads, "to be as free as yonrselves and we shall ever 
esteem a imion with you to be onr greatest glory and our 
greatest happiness; we shall ever be ready to contribute 
all in onr power to the welfare of the empire; we shall 
consider your enemies onr enemies, your interests as our 
own. But if you are detennined tliat your ministers shall 
sport wantonly with the rights of mankind, — if neither 
the voice of justice, the dictates of the law, the princi- 
ples of the coustitntion, nor the STiggestions of humanity 
can restrain vour hands from shedding blood in such an 



6 

iiupioiis cause, — we unist then tell vou that we will never 
submit to be hewers of wood or drawers of water for 
any ministry or nation in the world." It seems strange 
that any king, parliament or jjeople could have turned 
a deaf ear to so noble and manly an apix-al. So the 
struggle continued, "the Colonies," ^^Tote Horace Wal- 
pole, in a letter to Horace ifanu, ''will not drink tea 
witli our parliament." Event crowded upon the heel of 
event, until at length, the first blow was struck at Lex- 
ington, and the Colonies fi'om Massacli\isetts to South 
Carolina were aflame with ardor and patriotism. 

The lantern smnging in the steeple of the old Xorth 
Churcli to signal the patriots that their liberties were in 
danger, sent out its light into the darkness of night and its 
glare will go streaming down througb all the ages yet to 
come. Paul Revere dashiug down the Medford Road 
gave the alarm at every farm house on the way, and his 
words will ever ring through future days. The Minute 
Men responded to the call, and at Lexing-ton, the first shot 
was fired, which was heard around the world and which 
will reverberate unto the latest generations of time. 
The light in the belfry, the wild alann of Revere and 
the volley fired at Lexing-ton were the signals for Revolu- 
tion; the bloody conflict was begun, which was to end in 
the freedom of a people and in the establishment of a 
Republic dedicated unto liberty. 

''Stormv the day of her birth 
Was she not born of the strong?" 

The whin-ing words of Piteaim, "Disperse ye rebels, 
throw down your arms and disperse," were misapplied to 
the sturdy yeomen who bravely stood in defense of their 
liberties; they rebelled not against government, but against 
tyranny; it Vv'as not a sedition, it was a revolution. 

At the time of the destruction of the Bastille, in France, 



"when long-buried Despair found voice," the Duke de 
Liancourt entering the apaitnients of the King, detailed 
to liim the thrilling occuiTenees of that eventful day; 
while describing the wild fury of the mob, the capture 
of the fortress, the surrender of the Swiss guard, and the 
murder of DeLaunay, the dull and stupid monarch in- 
terrupted him by exclaiming, "c'est une revoke." "Sire," 
replied Liancourt, "ce n'est pas une revolte — c'est une 
revolution," it is not a revolt it is a revolution. George 
the Third and Louis the Sixteenth, in their stupidity, were 
unable to appreciate the uieauing of events, one, in conse- 
quence, lost his provinces, the other, his head. 

The fight at Bunker Hill, the evacuation of Boston, 
the fall of Ticonderoga, the battle of Long Island, the 
defeat of the Hessiajis at Bennington, the victories at 
Trenton and Princeton, the sun-ender of Burgoyne at 
Bemis Heights, the defeat of the Americans at Brandy- 
M'ine, the battle of CTemiantown followed by the Winter 
camp at Valley Forge, marked the opening years of the 
war. It was a struggle long continued and valiantly 
waged. During the Winter of '77 and '78 the fortunes 
of the Americans were at a low ebb, cabal ajid intrigue 
raised their heads and plotted again.st the Commander-in- 
Chief; Congi'ess utterly inefficient liad depreciated to a 
par with the worthless currency, the patriots were despond- 
ent, despair had seized the people, the present was heavy 
with disaster and the future indeed looked dark, but the 
soldiei-s at Valley Forge kept alive the cause; it was the 
hour that tried men's souls and tested their faith and 
courage. No one can predict what the result of the Revo- 
lution would have been without the character of Wash- 
ington and the behavior and endurance <if the trocips in 
that desolate camp, that cheerless winter. How great the 
debt of gratitude we owe those men who fought on against 
odds, who suifored, sustained the heat and burden of the 



strife, and at Icngtli won the victory in freedom's cause! 
In the rage and frenzy of battle, amidst the rattle 
of musketry and the roar of cannon, in the \vild and 
furious charge and in the slow and sullen retreat, in 
the exultation of victory and in the despair of defeat, at 
the sentry's dreary post, on the long and tiresome march, 
under the scorching heats of Summer and the biting frosts 
of Winter; hungry, footsore and heart weaiy, they bravely, 
heroically, constantly bore the burden of the conflict waged 
for liberty. The historj' of their deeds is written in teai-s 
and blood. All are at rest, many sleeping where they 
fell, othei-s in obscure and nameless graves, but the 
epitaphs of all are inscribed on, the hearts of their ever 
grateful countrymen. Is it a wonder that we glory in 
their honor, that we rejoice in the victories they achieved, 
that we are 2>roud of the heroism they displayed? 

It is suffering that tests the courage and the spirit of 
men, and prepares them for great events. It was the 
suffering endured at Valley Forge that proved America 
was invincible, that retrieved the field of Monmouth, when 
it was lost, that induced the sympathy and secured the coi-- 
dial aid of France. Wliile the British soldiers were in com- 
fortable quarters in Philadelphia, the officers drinking and 
lounging at the clubs, or flirting and dancing with the 
tory-belles at the assemblies, the baj^e-footed and the ragged 
soldiei-s at Valley Forge, shivering with cold and weak 
with hunger, were drilled and prepared for the coming 
campaign by the gallant Steuben, and sustained in hope 
by the constancy and courage of Washington. The icy 
blasts of Winter stung them to the bone, but their spirits 
never quailed, it was the darkest hour just before the 
dawn of day, it was the season of probation and they were 
equal to the test. When the Spring and Summer came 
the conditions were somewhat changed. Clinton retreated 
through the Jerseys and Washington followed in pursuit. 



If the Continental troops had not sustained the rigors of 
that long and bitter Winter, the cause would have been 
lost; they were worthy liberty, for they suffered for it. 
Tlie fact that they did not succumb, gave them courage to 
resist and persevere. It was the turning point in the 
struggle. It was at Valley Forge that all the hopes and 
fears and courage of the conflict focused. It was in that 
cold and desolate camp that the spirit of freedom and 
independence was kept alive. The holding of that small 
army Ix^ether mad© the revolution a success, if it had 
disbanded or melted away, the war would have been over; 
liberty was in the keeping of those men, and they wetre 
faithful to the trust. It is the splendid endxirance of 
agony that proves the faith and courage of the martyr. 

Twice within the bordere of Penns^dvania, the turning 
points have l)een scored in the Nation's struggles for free- 
dom. Once at Valley Forge when the endurance of the 
army, the fortitude and sustaining courage of Washing- 
ton inspired hope and confidence among the people, and 
proved to the world that defeat was impossible, and again 
at Grettysburg when the invading hosts of Lee were turned 
back in defeat and disaster, and when the Union Army, 
under the command of Meade, gave proof that it was in- 
vincible and that the nation could not be broken in twain. 
These were the vital periods in the history of the nation's 
liberty, creation and preservation. Take these two events 
out of the stoiy and who can guess what the results would 
have been. 

In the Spring of 1778 new hope dawned in every 
loyal heai-t, France furnished money and munitions of 
war, but better than all, a na^*^', for therein, from the 
very beginning, w© had been most deficient. The surrender 
of Oomwallis at Yo^kto^\^l was \artnally the final and de- 
cisive battle of the Revolution. Peace fallowed by the 



10 

sifjning of tlie Treaty of Paris, and Great Britain acknowl- 
edged tiie indepeudenee of the United States. 

" The New World's chain lies broken here." 

So we have traced the struggle for jxypular lights from 
the l)eginning of the early settlements to the close of the 
Revolutionary War; it was persistent, long continued and 
tended to l)ut one result; the ]>eople who had escajwid from 
persecution, to find liberty in a new land, were bound ul- 
timately to secure it, freed from the usurpations of pro- 
prietaiT govemO'i-s, the exactions of minist.ers or the tyr- 
anny of kings. "Give a thing time," writes Oarlyle — "if 
it can succeed it is a right thing. Look now at American 
Saxondom; and at that little fact of the sailing of the 
'Mayflower,' two hundred years ago from Delft Haven 
in Holland! Were we of open sense as the Greeks were, 
we had founil a poem here; one of nature's own poems, 
such as she writics in broad facts over great continents." 

But the conflict for univei-sal freedom was not yet over, 
it was only half won, it was "irrepressible" imtil every 
man, woman and child in the Republic could go forth to 
labor \vithout the brand of serfdom and the shackles of 
bondage. 

The Declaration of Independence which declared all 
men equal, that is equal under the law, was not complete 
until liberty was made a fact liy the Emanci]>ation Procla- 
mation. After the Revolution, the Articles of Confedera- 
tion that held the States together, as with a rope of sand, 
were replaced by the Constitution, which had the features 
of a federative union of states rather than a nation of sov- 
ereign people; it was effected by compromise, the smaller 
states, fearing the power of the larger and more populous, 
held most tenaciously to the principle of sovereignty, 
which principle, in time, became the main support of the 
institution of slavery. 



11 

Tlie Missouri Compromise in 18:^0, lor a time, drew 
a line beyond wliicli no man eoiild be held in bond- 
age, but tbe question wmild not rest, tlie friction and 
agitation continued until at lengili in 1854, tlie Act 
of 1820 was repealed. Then benan in earnest "the in-e- 
pressible conflict" that raged until war with blood and 
desolation wiped out the stain. 

How could it be otherwise^ the Republic could not e.\i -t 
half slave and half fiiee, it had to be wholly free or wholly 
slave, a comjjact could not be ukkIc willi sin, the institu- 
tion was either right or wrong, if tlie latter, it could not 
be tolerated among a civilized people. The ciii-se of 
slavery was eating into the vitals, deacb'iiing the moral 
sense of the nation, it was the one abs(>rbing question 
for years; it enteretl jwditics, it controlled the actions of 
party leaders and statesmen who juggled and tenqwrized 
with it, and yielded to its intlncm-c and teni])tationsinre^ch- 
ing the objects of their aml>itions. it is most difficult U) 
root out a firmly imbedded institution. Slavei*y had been 
recognized and supported by law, it had existed from the 
earliest days, time out of mind, it re]>resonted the wealtli 
of vast regions of oiu- country, it had the active and un- 
(pialitied support of one of our great political parties, it 
sent as its repi-esentatives and advocates to the halls of 
Congi-ess the ablest men of the South, honest men too, 
who had been educated from youth to believe, that the 
negi'o was better bond than free, and who contended elo- 
quently that the Bible and the Constitution were the foun- 
dation stones of the edifice. But the logic of truth had 
to prevail and the nation, at length, was surrendered to fire 
and sword. 

The Revolution of 1776 had been supported l)y one 
great sjjirit whose courage and fortitude of soul had led 
the Continental Arm^- to \'ictory and the Republic to 
peace. Who would now be raised up to meet the impend- 



12 

ing crisis aiid lead the nation tlirough strife and sorrow 
and blood to emancipation and universal freedom? 

Washinglon and Lincoln present in many particulars a 
most marked contrast, one was born in the home of a 
planter, tbe otlier in the log cabin of a frontiersman, one 
was a slave-owner, the other inured to toil, one eame from 
aristcR-ratie conditions surrounded by refining social influ- 
enc-es, the other si>rang from the humblest conditions of 
society, l)oni and bred fai- away on the outskirts of ci\'iliza- 
tion. One was a true representative of the Virginian gent- 
leman, tall and finely formed, dignified in his beaj-ing, mast 
punctilious in his observance of the rules of etiquette, not 
ready of speech, most reser\-ed and at all times repell- 
ing familiarity; the other was of the common people 
tall, but awkward and ungainly, of free and open manner, 
most easily approached, warm-heai-tetl, genial, eloquent 
and magnetic. They were two distinct types of the social 
life in America. 

Both were men jjatient in thought, wise, consei-vative, 
strong, of unquestioned courage and integrity, and pos- 
sessed of that foi-titude of soul that enabled them to pa- 
tiently sustain and bear unto the end. Each discharged to 
the lull measure, the duties he was called upon to perform; 
one rescued the people from the tyranny of kings, the other 
led the nation out of the house of bondage. 

Abraham Lincoln was lx>m to a very humble station of 
life, but he sprang from a strong race, his ancestor were 
of tough fibre, of bold and courageous spirit. February 
12, 1809, was the date of his birth; it is held in affectionate 
remembrance and observed as a national annivei-sai-y by 
his grateful countrymen. Fortune did not rock the cradle, 
and nothing seemed so remote from the child, as the success 
and honor that aftei-wards came to the man, but in our 
country everything is possible, and nothing speaks so elo- 
quently of our free institutions as tlie fact, that one, born 



13 

in so hiinililo a sphere, can, by merit and wortli, rise to the 
highest jTOsition of trust and power. 

His iiiotlier was a woman of deep reHgions eonvietions 
and of more than ordinary intelligence; at her knee, he 
learned to pray and read. Slie made a deep impression 
npon tlie mind of tlie l)oy from his earliest days. It was 
from her tliat lie inherited his love of poetrj', his deep 
emotional and strongly sympathetic natiire. In after 
years he said "all that 1 am or hope to be I owe to my 
angel motlu'r." 

His school advantages amounted comparatively t^ 
nothing; in eveiy sense of the word, he was self- 
educated, his industry, his application and his natural 
love of reading made iiji for liis lack of opportunity. 
Ho economized eveiT moment of his time, when he drove 
his "tt-am afield," followed the plough, planted grain, 
picked com, felled trees or split rails, his mind was ever 
at work. Even after a day of toil, he read in the loft of 
the log cabin, far into the night, until the "nubbin" of 
tallow candle burned out in its socket. This training was 
gradually developing his mind and preparing him, all un- 
conscious to himself, for the great part he was to play 
in the history of the Republic. No doubt as a boy full 
of honorable ambition he had his day dreams, but little 
could he foresee the honoi-s that awaited him, that the 
time would come, when a nation, in her hour of peril, 
would lean on him for support. 

In 1831 he left his father's house and started out in the 
world to seek his fortune. He had a shoi-t experience on 
a flat-boat, ser\-ed as a clerk in a country store, enlisted as 
a volunteer and was elected captain of a company in the 
Black Hawk War, but saw no actual service, ]>racticrd sur- 
veying and in 1S.S2 Itegan the study of law which he sub- 
sequently adopted as his profession. At this period he had 
the reputation in his neighborhood of knowing more than 



14 

aiiy man in the United States and of being able to whip, 
throw or outrun any man in the county. He was of her- 
culean strength, stood six feet four inches in height, but 
being of a kindly and gentle dispotsition, he would never 
tight unless he had to. The rough customs of the locality, 
howevei', compelled him at times to maintain his repu- 
tation. 

P^rom 1839 to 18()0 he was in active practii'e as a lawyer 
before the local and Federal Courts of Illinois and was 
often retained in important cases outside of his own State. 
As an advocate he was exceptionally strong and stood in 
the front rank among the nisi priiis la^vye^s of that day. 
Upon constitutional question.s he was considered an au- 
thority; in many of his arguments upon slavery he dis- 
played a profound knowledge of the fundamental law of 
our country. It is an erroneous impression, that Lincoln 
was an unknown man until his debates witli Douglass and 
his Cooper Institute sjDeech gave him a national reputation. 
He was looked upon and was recognized, for years, as one 
of the strongest men in the T^Torthwest. 

To a nature as ardent as Uiucolu's, politi(>s was a most 
attractive field, and he early turned his attention in that 
direction. He was always well infonned upon public 
questions, was a ready debater, a most effective speaker and, 
at times, with, the fury of his eloquence, he bore down all 
rv]>position before him; this ga^-e him great ]>ower upon 
the stump, and it may truthfully be said that there have 
been few, if any, {X)pular orators in the history of this 
countiy, that have ever surpassed him; a good stoi'y-teller, 
a master of pathos, full of humor, quick at repartee, with 
a flashing and ready wit, there were not many men who 
could successfully meet him, on the platform, even in the 
early days of his career. 

We have not the time to trace him step liy step tlmnigh 
his Legislative and Congi'essional terms but must hasten 



15 

on, to that period in his life, when he rose above the politi- 
cal horizon in simple but grand proportions. 

At the time of the passage of the Missouri Compromise 
in 1850 the advocates as well as the opponents of slavery 
saw and felt that the struggle was now to the death. When 
Missouri sought to be admitted into the Union, there was 
a stormy resistance to her admission as a slave State. The 
controversy over this question continued from 1819 to 
1821 and, at length, the matter was settled by one of those 
compromises, that only defer the day of final judgment. 
Missouri was admitted, with the pro\nso, that all the west- 
em temtory, noi-th of the parallel of latitude 36° 30' 
should be forever free; it was the tii'st real conflict be- 
tween the free and slave States, and was a victory for the 
latter, but when that pro\'iso was repealed in 1854 by the 
passage of the Kansas and Nebraska Act, a protest went up 
from an indignant people, and men girded themselves for 
the battle. In seven years from the date of that act, the 
nation was in the throes of rebellion, in the horrors of a 
civil war, tlie worst of all conflicts, when brother meets 
brother in the agony of battle. 

Slavery was introduced into the English Colonies against 
the earnest protest of the settlers. The Virginia Assembly, 
in 1772, petitioned the British (Jovemment to stop the im- 
poi-tation of slaves, but the King replied that the importa- 
tion should in nowise be interfered with "upon pain of 
his highest displeasure." It was never contemplated, by 
the Fathers of the Kepiiblic, that slavery should be a per- 
manent institution. In the Congi-ess of 1771 a Bill of 
Rights was presented by Thomas Jefferson which declared 
that "the abolition of slavery is the great object of desire 
of these colonies." The same Congress in October of the 
same year declared "we will neither import nor purchase 
any slave imported after the first of December ne.xt, after 
which time we will discontinue tJie slave trade and will 



16 

neither he conceiTied in it ourselves, nor will we hire any 
vessels from nor sell our commodities or manufactures to 
those who are concei-netl in it." 

In the original draft of the Declaration of Independence 
Jefferson had written, refeaTing to the King, the follow- 
ing clause: "Determined to keep open a market where 
men should be bought iind sold, he has prostituted his 
negative for suppressing e\'ery legislative attempt, to pro- 
hibit or to i-estrain this execrable commerce. He is now 
exciting those very people to rise in arms against us and 
purchase that liberty of which he has deprived them by 
mnrdering the people on whom he has obtruded them, thus 
paying off fonuer ci^imes committed against the liberties of 
one i^eople with the crimes which he urges them to commit 
against the lives of another." This is vei-y significant 
language and shows the general sentiment that existed in 
this country, at that time, in relation to the institution of 
slavery. This clausei however was removed as Mr. Jef- 
ferson states, not only out of "complaisance to South 
Carolina and Georgia," but also as a concession to our 
Northern brethren "who felt a little tender under those 
censuree." 

In a letter -^vi-itten in 1773, Patrick Henry said, "I be- 
lieve the time will come when an opportunity will be offered 
to abolish this lamentable evil." General Washington, in 
speaking of slavery, used the following emphatic lang-uage : 
"There is not a man living who desires more sincerely, 
than I do, to see a plan adopted for the abolition of it." 
Franklin, John Adams, Moms and most of the sigiiei-s 
of the Declaration of Independence were opposed to 
it upon moral considerations. Anti-Slavery and Aboli- 
tion Societies were early fomied and the sentiment 
of the whole people was in direct opposition to the per- 
majient continuance of the system. It was in 1784 that 
Mr. Jefferson drafted a bill for the government of the 



17 

Western Territories, provicliiig for its prohibition after 
the year 1800. Tf tliis measnre had been adopted there 
might have been no extension of slavcr\' into the Terri- 
tories. It wonld have been confined to the original Thir- 
teen States and, in time, under the infliience of moral 
forces would gradnally have been extinguished. 

In 1780 Pennsylvania passed a law for gradual eman- 
cipation. Connecticnt and Rhode Island followed with 
like measures in 1784, and New York in 1799. The 
ordinance of 1787 which secured freedom to the North- 
west, to that teaTitory, out of which were subsequently 
erected the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan 
and "Wisconsin, was the most impoi-tant mea.sure affecting 
this question of slaveiy from the organization of the gov- 
eniment to the Emancipation Pro<damation and saved 
those Stat«s for the final stniggle, on the side of freedom. 

In 1790 the Capitol was removed from Philadelphia 
to the District of Columbia, which had been ceded to the 
National Government by the States of ilaryland and 
Virginia. In this district slavery was recognized and 
legalized. The transfer had been made from a free to a 
slave territory- and this change unquestionably gave new 
strength to the system. Tlie slave sat upon the steps of 
the Capitol of Liberty, the auction block stood within its 
shadow, while coffles daily passed ita portals. 

The increasing wealth in the slave states, their devotion 
almost exclusively to agriculture, the invention of the 
cotton gin, resulting in the increased production and the 
commercial importance of cotton, gradnally fi.xed slaveiw 
as a permanent institution in the South, and the effort 
now was to obtain political control of the government, 
in order to strengthen and preser^'e the system, or rather 
to save it from destruction, for its supporters appreciated 
its innate weakness and immorality. The negro was a 



18 

good field hand, patient in disposition, men-y in mood, and 
able to endure without inconvenience the heat of a semi- 
tropical simimer; his labor was cheap and profitable so 
that the desire to preserve the system of slavery turned 
upon a pecuniary consideration ; nothing so dulls the moral 
perceptions, or so completely blinds the eyes of men to 
the truth as a consideration of that character. Slavery 
was a most pernicious system, it destroyed the dignity 
nf labor, created a landed aristocracy and divided society 
into three classes, the planters, the slaves and the poor 
whites, the latter designated, contemptuously, as "trash," 
by the wealthy slave owner as well as by the abject serf, 
and yet many of these men were to be foimd in the con- 
federate armies and fought the battles bravely and heroi- 
cally for the maintenance of a system that only tended 
to degrade them in the social scale. 

At this distance of time, it seems strange that slavery 
had so many able, earnest and aggressive supporters, but 
we must bear in mind, that we are far removed from the 
convictions, excitement and partisan prejudice of that 
period, and yet, what a travesty was presented to the 
eyes of the world — a Republic, boasting that it was "con- 
ceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all 
men are created equal," was, South of a certain line, all 
slave, North of it, all free. 

Slavery is dead, the South would not revive the system, 
if it could, and, perhaps, there cannot be found in the 
Nation to-day, a man who would favor its return, and in 
our consideration of this matter, far distant from the pre^ 
judices of the past, we can, at least, be fair. 

The South was not, altogether, to blame for the main- 
tenance of slavery, it was tolerated by the whole nation, 
there is no escape from the fact that it was a national 
crime. The system was as valiantly defended in the 
North as in the South. The New England cotton manu- 



1!) 

factiu-er was just as eager in ita support as the plautwr in 
South Carolina. The interests of connnerce were of far 
more importance than any principle of justice or humanity. 
Abolitionist was a term of reproach throughout the Union, 
and an anti-slavery advocate or representative was aa 
liable to be mobbed, or subjected to abuse and derision 
in Boston and New York as in Charleston and Richmond. 
It required the sacrifice and courage of martyre to awaken 
the sleeping conscience of the nation. 

The Missouri Compromise of 1820, for a time, settled 
the question or rather removed it from stormy contention. 
Thea-e had been a limit by this act put to the further ex- 
tension of slavery and the opposition lay doi-mant, but the 
audacious and insolent repeal of this measure, provoked 
the people, and aroused a just indignation throughout 
the free states; then began the final struggle. There 
was now no compromise possible, the full purpose 
of the slave power was revealed; as time wore on, 
both sides grew angry and defiant; the conser\'atives 
made every eilort to avoid the issue of war; it could 
be postponed, but it ultimately had to come, or the 
nation fall apart; that nation, too, that had beeai 
cemented by the blood of the fathers, that had its natural 
boundai'ies traced by the tingei" of God and which, united, 
was destined for gi-eat thing-s. 

Then'e had always been a strong sentiment for the union 
in the Korth, and whenever an attempt was made to re- 
strict or abolish slavery, the South taking advantage of 
this sentiment threatened to withdraw from the Union, 
resting its right, so to do, upon the doctrine of State 
sovereignty. This dread of separation had always in- 
duced the North to yield absolutely or else to agree to 
a measure of compro^mise, and the Southern politicians 
had often played the game with gi-eat tact and shrewdness, 
but now the hour was at hand when further yielding was 



20 

out of the question, slavery had to die or the Union dis- 
solve. 

After the compromise of 1850 the pro-slavery leaders, 
intoxicated with their success, went a step further in claim- 
ing that under tlie Constitution the govemnient liad no 
right to i>roliiliit slavery in any of tlie territories. The 
more moderate wing of the Democratic party took tlie [xi- 
sition that the matter of the introduction of slavery into 
any ten-itory should be left to the settlere to decide by 
ballot. Steiihen A. Douglas at this time was the idol of 
the Young Democracy and he identified himself with and 
became the leader of this movement; with all his might 
he urged the passage of the Kansas and I^ebraska Bill. 
This measure at length was carried and the struggle im- 
mediately began between tlie slave power and the free 
soilers for the control of Kansas. A conflict long and 
bitter was waged, which was but the precursor of the civil 
war. The whole nation was aroused and tlie most intense 
bitterness prevailed. Kansas, bleeding at every pore, was 
torn and rent by civil strife, but in the end victory re- 
mained with the free soilers and the State was saved from 
the blight of slavery. 

It was at this period that Lincoln came from his retire- 
ment and entered the conflict with all the energy of his 
nature. To a nuin whose principles of justice were so 
finnly fixed, whose sentiments of humanity were so pro- 
nounced, the threatened enslavement of the great North- 
west appeared to be a crime without justification; lie had 
a convictiOTi that the safety, the peace and the p6i-]>etuity 
of the Republic depended uptm the absolute extinction of 
slavery, but at this time, he did not think more could be 
done than to prevent its expansion; to this task then, he 
surrendered himself without reservation. Lincoln, above 
all things, was consen^ative and practical and he appre- 
ciated, to the full measure of its imjxirtance, the work that 



21 



was before him. Without bittoriicss, from a se.iiso of duty, 
actuated by the highest motives, and with a patriotisin 
of thei broadest typ«, he entered, upon the canvass for free- 
dom. It vpas not long before he became the recognize<l 
leader of the anti-slavery party in the Northwest and in 
the Valley of the Mississippi. 

After the compromise of 1850 and the Kansas and Ne- 
braska Act of 1854 came the Dred Scott decision by the 
Supreme Court, in which it was held that a slave is a 
chattel, a thing to l>e bougtt and sold and owned as a 
mere conniKMlity. It was decided as the law of the land 
that the negro had no rights under the Constitution which 
the white man was bound to respect. The opinion was 
cruel and inhuman in every line of its text; it was un- 
nat\n-al, barbarous and media3val in chai-acter and at vari- 
ance with every principal of modem civilization; it ig- 
nored every dictate of humanity, and set at defiance every 
precept of religion and Cliristianity. It was slavery run 
mad; it was the tocsin that rang its doom. It was the cul- 
mination of the long struggle and sounded tlie death knell 
of slaverj-. It startled the consciences and aroused the 
righteous indignation of an outraged i>eople. The slave 
power and its political allies rejoiced, and contended that 
the question had now been settled forever and placed be- 
yond further contention, just as if an opinion of a prosti- 
tuted bench could defy the judgment of a living God. 
There was now left but one court of appeal — the consci- 
ences of men. 

In 1854, when Stephen A. Douglas returned to Illinois, 
after his Advocacy of the Kansas and Nebra.ska bill, he 
was received with a storm of indignation: but confident 
of his powei- and with that courage amd energy that always 
characterized him, he sti-ipped for the fray, but there was a 
foeman, wort,hy of his steel and armed with the strength 



22 

of a just cause, ready and eager to meet hiui. It was to 
be a battle of the giants. 

About this time, Lincoln delivere<l what is knowm as his 
Peoria speech, in which he gave an accurate and a most 
exliaustive history of the slaveiy question and the legis- 
lation pertaining to it from the days of the organization 
of the govern iTient. TTpon this occasion, he rose to the 
full height of his power, and made an argument, liased 
upon reason and law, so strong and conclusive, and so com- 
pletely demolishing the false logic of Douglas, that the latter 
begged for quarter. In this speech Lincoln declared that 
"slaveiy is founded in the selfishness of man's nature, oj)- 
position to it in his love of justice; these principles are in 
eternal antagonism and when brought into the collision so 
fiercely as slavery extension brings them, shocks, and 
throes, and convulsions must ceaselessly follow. Repeal 
the Missouri Compromise — repeal all conlpromises — repeal 
the Declaration of Independence — repeal all past history, 
you still cannot repeal human natiu-e. It still wdll be out 
of the abundance of man's heart that he will declare 
slavery extension is wrong, and out of the abundance of 
his mouth he will continue to speak." 

On the 29th of May, 1856, a convention of the people 
oi' Illinois, ojiposed to the extension of slavery, met 
at Blooniington, and organizetl the Republican Party 
in that State. At this convention, Lincoln's speech aroused 
the greatest enthusiasm. The delegates were continually 
on their feet, cheering to the echo, the sentiments that 
welled up from the heart of the orator. It is said by 
those who were present, on that occasion, that the vast 
audience was swayed by him at his will. 

In 1856 the jSTational Convention of the Republican 
Party met in Philadelphia and nominated John C. Fre- 
mont for President, and William L. Dayton for Vice 
President. The Democratic National Convention met at 



^3 

Cincinnati and Jiimes Buelianan and John C. Breckin- 
ridge were made the candidates of the party. Then fol- 
lowed one of the inioet exciting campaigns that had ever 
been waged in this conntn^. Lincoln was continually on 
the stnnip and did herculean work. He seemed never to 
tire. His speeches were always fresh, and full of new 
matter. His argument at times seemed clothed in thunder. 

In June, 1858, the Hlinois Republican State Conven- 
tion met at Springfield, and Lincoln, amidst the greatest 
enthusiasm, was named as a candidate of the party for 
LTnited States Senator. His speech upon this occasion 
was thoiightful and well considered; it was at this time 
that he utt/cred the memorable phrase, "a house divided 
against itself cannot stand." It clearly announced tliat 
slavery' and freedom could not live side l>y side. The issue 
was now narrowed down to the proposition tliat the nation 
could not exist both slave and free. The same thought 
was expressed shortly afterwards by AVm. H. Seward, 
when he said "it is an irrepressible conflict between oppos- 
ing and enduring forces, and it means that the United 
States will sooner or later l^ecome a slave-holding nation, 
or become an entirely free labor nation.'" 

Shortly after the Spring-field Convention, arrangements 
were made for a joint discussion of the pending issiJes, 
between Lincoln and Douglas. Both men at tliat time 
were in the full maturity of their powei-s. Douglas was 
forty-five years of age and Lincoln forty-nine, and each 
was by his respective followers considered redoubtal)le antl 
invincible in debate. 

The wdiole nation followed the discussion with the 
gi-eatest interest, for it was a period of intense excitement, 
and the contest between the opposing forces was increas- 
ing hourly in bitterness. 

During all this period of excitement, Lincoln conducted 
himself with dignity and moderation. His speeches were 



24 

elevated in tone, eloquent in expression, strong in logic 
and intense in feeling. Althongli wann in his sympa- 
thies, and at times righteously indignant at the injustice 
of the slave power, he never lowered himself by indulging 
in personal slander or abuse; though often carried away by 
the eloquence of his theme, he never lost his head nor 
his temper, and therein he had a great advantage over 
his opponent, who, when hard pressed, was apt to liecome 
irritable and impatient. It is stated that, upon one occa- 
sion, while Douglas was writhing under the tremendous 
force of Lincoln's argiunent, he rose from his chair and 
paced impatiently up and down the platform, "his long 
grizzled hair," as described by a spectator, ''waving in the 
wind like the shaggy locks of an enraged lion," with watch 
in hand he stood ready to inteiTupt Lincoln upon the 
second of the expiration of his time. 

The debates between Lincoln and Douglas were un- 
questionably, when we consider the issues at stake, among 
the most important that had ever taken place in the history 
of the Republic. 

Lincoln had the advantage of advocating the right side 
of the question. Slavery was wrong /)rr -sr, it was liased 
on no moral principle, it had in time to give way to the 
logic of truth, humanity and civilization, but in those 
days the system was woven into the very fabric, imbedded 
into the very foundation of our goveniment. The ablest 
advocates, in the piilpit, in tlic forum, in Congress and on 
the stump defended it: even going so far as to claim 
it was of divine sanction. Alexander H. Stephens said: 
"It is indeed in conformity with the Creator. It is not 
for us to inquire into the wisdom of His ordinances or to 
question them." A very easy way to satisfy one's con- 
science — to beg the question, or rather to adopt a false 
premise, and then to endoi-se your conclusion with the ap- 
proval of the Almighty, to hold Him rcsponsilde for an 



25 

f.xisting conilitioii, which, org-inally, was founded in, and 
aftenvards maintained hy man's selfishness and inhu- 
manity. 

Slavery was an old quevStion, for it had vexed the Re- 
public from the very beginning, but the trutli was to re- 
ceive new force from the reason and logic of Lincoln. 
His speeches did more than those of any other man, at 
that period to open the way for its overthrow and destruc- 
tion. As I have already said, Lincoln had tlie right of the 
question, but it must be liorne in mind that, at that time, it 
was the unpopular side; the dominant political pai-ty 
was controlled by the slave power, and party fealty is lianl 
to be broken and often tends to blind men to the truth. 
Lincoln had to break down prejudice and long-settled opin- 
ions and con%actions; as a rule, men accept existing con- 
<litions as unalterable; they dread sudden changes; con- 
servative commercial interests fear force, they always favor 
delay and compromise, and it was urged that the busi- 
ness prosperity of the North depended, in a great measure, 
upon the maintenance of slavery in the Sovuth; even the 
discussion interfered, it was claimed, with the trade be- 
tween the two sections. 

The debates between Lincoln and Douglas covered a 
j>eriod extending from July to late in October. At first, 
they did not speak upon tJie same platfonn, but afterwards 
an an-angement was made, at the request of Mr. Lincoln, 
for a series of joint discussions. The firet speech in the 
campaign was made by Mr. Douglas on the evening of 
July 9, 1858, from the balcony of the old Tremont House, 
m C?hicago; on the follo\\ang evening Lincoln replied from 
the same place. The crowds that came to hear were vast 
on both occasions. 

In eveiT way, mentally and physically, the debaters were 
totally dissimilar. Douglas was one of the most popular, 
fascinating and magnetic speakers of his time; lie had 



•26 

been ti'ained on the stiimjj, in Congress and in tlie Senate, 
and had met in debate the strongest men in the i;ation. 
He was self-confident, resolnte, aggi-essive and defiant, 
and he possessed to a remarkable degTee those qualities that 
specially attract the people, he was dramatic in manner, 
fluent in speecli, tactfnl and full of resources, keen, quick, 
sarcastic and incisive, brilliant, persuasive and logical. He 
was called affectionately by his followers "the little giant," 
and they considered him invincible. He was sliort in 
stature, not more than five feet, he had a strong, if not 
handsome face, and tlie play of his features while nuder 
the influence of his own eloquence expressed the control- 
ling thought or mood of his mind; long hair floating over 
his slioulders gave him a leonine appearance, and added to 
the attractiveness of his iiei"sona]ity. 

On the other hand, Lincoln was tall, gaunt and rather 
awkward in appearance, homely in feature until his face 
was lighted by the fires that bumed in his very soul; he 
was in no wise theatrical, bnt was plain, simple, and most 
convincing, his power of illustration was inimitable, his 
fund of anecdotes seemed almost inexhaustible, be was 
witty, hnmorous and pathetic but above all sincere and 
just. At times, his voice vibrated with the deep emotions 
of his soul and expressed in tender tones the sympathy of 
his heart. Though gentle and kindly by nature he was 
absolutely without fear. He had a commanding knowl- 
edge of the political histoi-y of this country. Douglas was 
calculated to win applause; Lincoln to win conviction. 

These were the men who were to discuss this question, 
so vital to the life of the nation. Lincoln never ro«e to 
greater heights than during these debates; his arguments 
were unanswerable; his words bumed into the veiy con- 
science of the nation and made a deeper impression upon 
the popular mind than those of any orator of that period, 
and there were giants in those days. 



27 

His speeclie? gave courage and inspiration to tlie lovers 
of freedom, and brought liope and comfort to the poor 
slaves in the rice and cotton fields of the far South. 

His audience was an aroused and a listening nation; his 
words were winged messengers that carried the truth 
throughout the land; like a prophet of old he spoke with 
the fire of inspiration that cajno from the justice of his 
cause. 

He failed in his contest for the Senate but the 
battle he made opened the way for greater honors and a 
higher post. Douglas was defeated by tlie popular vote 
but was returned to the Senate by a small majority in the 
Legislature. When it became known that Douglas was 
successful, he received a perfect ovation, and in liis tour 
throtigh the country was everywhere met with most enthu- 
siastic acclaim. Lincoln took his disappointment with 
philosophic composure, ajid with his characteristic equan- 
imity; his fame, however, had gone abroad and tlic East 
was anxious to meet him face to face. 

In answer to an invitation he came to New York and 
on the 27th of February, ISfiO, he delivered in that city 
his memorable speech at Cooper Institute, which added 
greatly to his reputation as an orator and a statesman. It 
was scholarly, logical and con^ancing ; it showed a thorough 
familiarity with the subject at issue, and made a profound 
impression upon a most critical audience. 

The speech should be carefiilly read by evei-y student 
of American history, for it is an exhaustive dissertation 
upon the right of Congress, based upon the views of the 
fathei-s of the Republic, to prohibit slavery in the terri- 
tories; it was an effort in every way Avorthy the orator, the 
theme and the occasion. 

The Republican Convention met in Chicago in May, 
and Mr. Lincoln was nominated for President. The 
campaign that followed was most active and exciting aad 



28 

resulted in liis election. Secession now threatened the 
destruction of the Union. The nation b;id reached the 
crisis in its history; reason was lost in the bitterness of 
the hour. 

The day of inaugniration was aproaching- and Mr. Lin- 
coln left his home in Sjiringfiekl to go to Washington to 
enter upon the duties of his office. 

May I digress for a moment in giving a little personal 
reminiscence? I was but a boy when Mr. Lincoln passed 
through this city on his way to the capital. I stood in 
the crowd at the comer of Twelfth and Chestnut street.s, 
and waited for the procession. I had never seen a Presi- 
dent, and in anticipation I was A\TOught up to a state of 
anxious curiosity. I had formed in my youthful mind 
an idea of his appearance, of course it was indistinct, but 
I expected to see a man of magnificent presence, 'Svith 
an eye like Mai-s to threaten and command." At length 
the ]>rocession reached o\ir conier, and in a barouche stood 
a tall blaek-haired, black-whiskered man, awkwardly bow- 
ing to the applauding and cheering croAvds that lined both 
sides of the street; he was so different in appearance from 
what I expected to see that I stood bewildered and as- 
tonished in my disappointment, but, at length, in answer 
to the cheers in my immediate vicinity, he turned 
in our direction, and instantly I was impressed by the 
gentle, kindly face, that seemed so fatherly and aifection- 
ate; thank God my little cap was in the air, and my voice 
helped, in its childish strength, to swell the (diorus of his 
welcome. 

He stole into the Capital by night, was inaugurated 
under military protection and then faced a crisis of mo 
mentous importance. Men's hearts quailed before the 
coming storm. Calm, considerate and moderate, Lincoln 
urged, in language pathetic and conciliatory, the Soutli to 
return to its allegiance. What can be more eloquent than 



29 

liis first inaugiiral address, when he pleaded for the Union: 
"My countrymen, one and all, think calmly and well upon 
this whole subject. Nothing valuable can be lost by tak- 
ing time. If there b© an object to h^irry any of you in 
hot haste to a step which you would never take deliber- 
ately, that object will bo finistrated by taking time, but 
no good object can be fnistrated by it. ***** 
In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not 
in mine, is the momentoiis issue of civil war. The gov- 
ernment will not assail yon. You can have no coiillict with- 
out being', yourselves, the aggressors. You have no oatli 
registered in heaven to destroy the government; while I 
shall have the most solemn one to 'preser\'e, protect and 
defend it.' 

"I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. 
We must not be enemies. Though passion may have 
strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The 
mystic choixls of memoi-y, stretching from every battle- 
field and patriot grave, to evei-y living heart and hearth- 
stone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus 
of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, 
by the better angels of our nature." But this earnest 
appeal found no response but jeers and derision; passion 
and bitterness controlled the minds of men, and across the 
waters of Charleston harbor shrieked the shells on their 
way to Simiter; the flag was lowered, war with all its 
terrors was upon the nation and the ominous tramp of 
anned men was heard throughout the land, while the 
heavens were reddened witii the glare from 

" The watch fires of a hundred circling caiiipe." 

When Mr. Lincoln took the oath of ofilce, he found the 
treasury empty, the national credit ruined, the army and 
navy scattered and disarmed, but nothing daunted, he reso- 
lutely faced the crisis. In those dreary years of civil war 



30 

when the fair fiekls of the South \ny bare, when her 
rivers ran blocd and the Republic was shaken as by an 
earthquake, under the cdash of anned hosts in battle, Lin- 
coln stood bravely at his post. With no bitterness in his 
heart, "with malice toward none, with charity for all, with 
finnness in the right," he bravely and heroically guided 
the nation through the storm into the light of better days. 
In the hour of his success, after the turmoil of war had 
ceased and peace had dawned, he was stricken down by 
the hand of an assassin, a sacrifice to liberty. It was not 
for him to descend into the plain, but like the leader of 
old, having brought his people tlu'ough tiibulation and out 
of the house of bondage, he stood upon the mountain top 
and saw the promised land only from afar. When he 
passed away, they laid him with his fathei-s, and a nation 
wept. 

Many of the actors and most of the leaders of that period 
are at rest; the excitement and the bitterness have subsided; 
passions born of the conflict have given way to reason, to 
])atriotism and to the influence and blessings of peace, and 
to-night we will not turn the pages of that book every line 
of which is wiitten in blood and tears. 

Both sides fought with the heroism characteristic of 
their race, with the same courage that they since have 
shown, when united and under one flag they went forth 
in the cause of humanity to smite the cruel power of Spain. 

We will not revive the anger and antagonisms of the 
past by fighting those "battles o'er," but with reverent 
hearts pray God, Who brought us safely through tlie hor- 
rors of civil strife, to ease all sorrow, dispel all bitteniess, 
bind up all wounds and ever keep the nation in His care 
and watchfulness. 

Vireinia had suffered the most, she had been the battle- 
held where the mighty hosts had encamped and fought; 
her soil had been drenched ^vith blood and swept by tire. 



31 

Witliin her borders all the horrors of war had centei-ed, 
and it was there that the last stand and surrender were 
made. 

Appomattox was not a field of conquest; its glory was 
not that we triumphed over our brothei-s, but that we 
saved their and our nation, wdiic-li, in their misguided judg- 
ment, they would have broken in twain. The war did not 
result in the acquisition of on© inch of territory, the South 
had never left the Union, the effort to take it out had 
failed, and the soldiere of the Confederate army returned 
to the pui-suits of industry, to build up the waste places 
and to cultivate the land, that too long had been lying 
in fallow. Once more they became loyal citizens of the 
RepTiblic, and to-day rejoice vcith us in our sucees-s. 

Prejudice and bitterness lingered for a long while, but 
as the years rolled on the nation became more united in 
.sentiment and purpose. 

Since the close of the war we have made wonderful pro- 
gress; we have set the pace for the world's advance. The 
liberation of the serfs in Russia, in time, followed the 
Emancipation Proclamation, and both were mighty strides 
in the direction of universal liberty. Would it not bave 
been a reflection upon our boasted free institutions if 
Russia's emancipation had preceded ours? 

Tlae world is growing better; men are becoming more 
tolerant; education is removing prejiidice and bigotry; 
charity is more generous and sympathetic, and no appeal 
is made for aid, but that some heart, is ready to respond; 
the rights of man are lietter understood and secured, even 
in France the truth -svill yet prevail, and the lone prisoner 
on "Devil's Island" will yet be heard in defence or the 
nation may be torn and riven by revolution. 

The Czar's suggestion for disarmament will not be alto- 
gether ignored; it will have its influence upon the future 
and is a step forward in the world's regeneration, towards 



32 

the dawii of that day, when nations \vill rest from battle, 
when the sword will be beaten into the ploughshare and 
the spear into the pruning hook. 

This is a remarkable period through which we are pass- 
ing. The material progTSss of the Nineteenth centui-y 
under the impulse of discoveries and inventions makes this 
age in many respects the most interesting and remarkalile 
the world has ever seen. 

'\\nien it is remembered, that in so far as the methods 
of communication, conveyance and locomotion were con- 
cerned, the age of Washing-ton was not one degree in ad- 
vance of that of .lulius Caesar, one may luive some appre- 
ciation of the progi-ess and improvements that have been 
made in the past hundred years. The stage or mail-coach 
called the "Flying Machine," with many relays of horses, 
made the journey, in 1774, from Philadelphia to New 
York, in the hitherto unequalled time of two days. Au 
express train, to-day, equipj>ed Avith every convenience, 
heated by steam, lighted by electricity, furnished as lux- 
uriously as a parlor, and with a dining room attached, 
covers the same distance in two hours. 

Lord Bacon says: "The introduction of noble inven- 
tions seems to hold by far the most excellent place among 
all human actions. And this was the judgment of anti- 
quity, which attributed divine honors to inventors, but 
conferred only heroical honors upon those who deserved 
well in civil affairs — such as the founders of empires, 
legislatoi-s and deliverers of their country. And whoever 
rightly considers it will tind this a judicious custom in 
former ages, since the benefits of inventors may extend to 
all mankind, but civil benefits only to particular countries 
or seats of men; and these civil benefits seldom descend 
to more than a few ages, whereas inventions are perpetu- 
ated through the course of time. Besides a state is seldom 
amended in its civil affairs without force and perturbatioi:,- 



33 

whilst inventions spread their advantage without doing in- 
jury or causing disturbanee." 

TN^ien the histoiy of the last half century is written, it 
wil stand out, up to this time, at least, as tlie most in- 
ventive age in the histoiy of mankind. During this 
period the steamship, tlie locomotive, the telegraph have 
been brought to perfection; the telephone, the phonograpli, 
the kinetosco})e are comparatively recent inventions, while 
photog^i'ajjhy pictures to us the heavens and reveals the 
wonders of the deep. One to have predicted these im- 
provements and discoveries fifty years ago would have 
been looked upon as wandering in his mind or iinbalanced 
in his intellect. Time and distance are no longer in the 
calculations of man, he has annihilated them in his com- 
mand and control of the forces of nature. He has made 
the elements obedient to his will. He leaps over the 
mountains and with the speed of light dashes across the 
plains, he tunnels the earth and rides upon the air, he 
walks vipon the bottom of the sea and mounts to the stars, 
he harnesses the tides, snatches the lightning from the 
clouds, bridles and directs it, sends his speech in an instant 
around the world, peers into the body of man and watches 
the beating or counts the pulsations of his heart. He ac- 
curately weighs and measures the stars and with the far- 
seeing telescope becomes familiar with the topogi'aphy of 
the sun and moon, in fact brings the latter, by means of 
his lenses, \vithin a few miles of the earth, and in time 
may signal, or with his messenger may reach, the inhabi- 
tants of far distant planets. 

Doubtless Shakespeare, himself, little appreciated the 
force of the words of Puck 

" I'll put a girdle round about the earth 
In forty minutes." 

The fairy's boast has been outdone. The spirit of elec- 



34 

tricity has outstripped the frolicsome spirit of tliat "Mid- 
summer Night's Di-eani." 

Carlyle, in rcfen-iiig to this man-elous period, says: 
"Were we required to characterize this age of ours by any 
single epithet, we should be temptetl to call it, not an 
Heroical, Devotional, Philosophical, or iloral Age, but 
above all othei-s, the Mechanical Age. It is the Age of 
Machinery in every outward and inward sense of that 
word; the age which, with its whole undivided might, for- 
wards, teaches and practices the gi-eat art of adapting 
means to ends." 

The portals of the Twentieth Century are opening 
and the world stands upon the threshold of a new era; it 
is always sad to say farewell to each passing year, liut a 
century, with all its memories and associations, is fast draw- 
ing to a close, and as we look into the future, we are apt, 
at times, to have anxious forebodings, and yet the new 
century that is dawniing may be greater in material pros- 
perity than any preceding age. ilay the Republic grow 
in honor and in strength and advance the cause of general 
enlightenment and civilization. May her rulers ever keep 
before them the examples of the great men of the past and 
endeavor to emulate their loyalty, their integrity and their 
wisdom. 

Goldwin Smith, in his History of the United States, 
says: "Abraham Lincoln is assuredly one of the marvels 
of history. No land but America has produced his like." 

The world delights to draw comparisons between its great 
men, as to their traits, their characteristics, and those qual- 
ities of mind and heart which enable them to succeed. 
For instance, we have frequently seen comparisons dravm 
between Caesar and Napoleon, Richelieu and AVolsey, 
Cromwell and Washington, Mirabeau and Gambetta, Clay 
and Blaine, and so on without number. "Plutarch's Lives" 
has been a source of delight in every age since it was written 



35 

and ill speaking of Aristides and Cato, he says: "Haviug 
thus given a detail of the most memorable actions of these 
great men, if we compare the whole life of the one witli 
that of the other, it will not \re. easy to discern the differ- 
ence between them, the eye being attracted lay so many 
striking resemblances." 

The American Plutarch has not yet appeared, but when 
he does he will not l>e able to use this language in com- 
paring Lincoln with any man in our political history. 
Lincoln stands alone. Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, 
Hamilton, Jackson, Callioun, Webster, and Clay differ 
from him at almost every point. We have already drawn 
a contrast between Washington and Lincoln and if we take 
up the others named above we will find but little if any 
similarity between him and any one of them. Franklin was 
more scientitii' and metaphysical. Jefferson shrewder and 
more intriguing, ■with greater organizing power. Hamilton 
more intellectual and with a greater creative genius. Cal- 
houn had a more analytical mind. Jackson was more im- 
pulsive, more imperious and coarser in his fibre. Webster 
was more learned and profound, but none of them re- 
sembles Lincoln in those qualities that make him in his 
own way truly great. Clay, "The Mill Boy ofthe Slashes," 
like Lincoln, came from a lowly origin; like him was self 
made; like him was magnetic and eloquent, but differed in 
every other particular. Among his contemporai-ies, Sew- 
ard, Douglas, Stanton, Sumner, Chase, Greeley, we can find 
no likeness. In fact, if we search through the whole his- 
tory of our country we do not find a man that suggests a 
resemblance. 

Emerson, in his essay on "Greatness," says: "AVhilst 
degrees of intellect interest only classes of men who pur- 
sue the same studies, as chemists or astronomers, mathe- 
maticians or linginsts, and have no attraction for the crowd, 
there are always men who have a more catholic genius, 



36 

are really great as men and inspire nniversal enthnsiasni. 
A great style of hero draws equally all classes, all the 
extremes of society, till we say the very dogs believe in 
him. We have had such examples in this coimtry in 
Daniel Webster, Henry Clay and the seamen's teacher, 
Father Taylor; in England, Charles James Fox; in Scot- 
land, Robert Burns; and in France, though it is less in- 
telligible to lis, Voltaire. Abraham Lincoln is i>erhaps the 
most remarkable example of this class that we have seen — 
a man who was at home and welcome witli tlie humblest 
and with a spirit and a practical vein in the times of teiTor, 
that commanded the admiration of the wisest. His heart 
was as great as the world, l)ut there wa.s no room in it t<> 
hold the memory of a wrong." 

Such was Lincoln, magiianimous, forgiving, not in any 
way vindictive; never treasuring a resentment, open, free, 
generous, sympathetic, wise and with an inflexible deci- 
sion when the occasion or the hour demanded firmness. 

Rising from the humblest suiTOundings he forced him- 
self into the foremost place in our history. He was in 
every sense of the word "self made;" he possessed that 
force of character which enabled him, though unattended 
by fortune and surrounded liy the most unfavorable cir- 
cumstances, to suniiount every obstacle and • at length 
reach the grandest heights. He was no prodigy that, like 
a meteor, flashes and then disappears, but attained his 
success by constant and untiring effort. 

The- simplicity of his character was his most marked 
trait; he was genuinely candid and honest; he was human 
in all his sympathies; we may truthfully apply to him the 
quotation: 

" Homo sum ; humani nihil a me alienum piito." 

He seems to have had no little or mean qualities such 
as envy or jealousy nor was he plagued by an inordinate 



37 

liiabition. He was a man of dec}) convictions, of intense 
feeling; poetic in temperament and emotional in nature, 
he was religioiis, though not orthodox, and firmly Indieved 
in an over-ruling Providence who guided the destinies of 
men and nations. 

He was liberal, tolerant and just, there was nothing of 
the bigot about him; he believed that two men could differ 
and yet both be honest. 

He was conservative, but of decision and courage; it 
has been said of him that "he had the firmness and deter- 
mination of Jackson without his temper." 

In the darkest hour his courage was the sti'ongest; 
when brave men faltered he took new strength; when they 
despaired he inspired fresh hope. 

He was in no sense a demagogue, although he must have 
had a just p-ide in reaching his success by his own efforts, 
he had too much self-respect to l)e ashamed of his humble 
birth and his early struggli-s, but he never flaunted the fact 
in the face of the multitutle to win applause or to secure 
sympathy and popular support; he knew that ho held a 
title to the true nobility of American manhood. 

He would have been a great man even though the cause 
he led had not succeeded ; such a character is not measured 
alone by its degree of success. 

He was a gentleman in the broadest and deepest sense 
of the term; in one of his replies to Douglas lie said: ''I 
set out in this campaign with the intention of conducting 
it strictly as a gentleman in substance, at least, if not in 
outside polish. The latter I shall never be, but that which 
constitutes the inside of a gentleman I ho])e I understand, 
and I am not less inclined to practice than another." 

What candor, what honesty, what simplicity. He knew 
that he was awkward and homely and diflident; that he 
did not possess the graces of the accomplished courtier or 
man of the world; that he was not familiar vdth the arti- 



38 

ficial luaiuiers and the empty ceremonijs of the dramng 
rooms of fashioiiahle or polite society. He did not possess 
that "outside jwlish" which so often, like a mere veneer, 
c'ovei-s the roughest, the meanest and the coldest souls. 
This polish and these forms are but the "trappings;" he 
liad "that within which passeth show." He was one of 
nature's gentlemen; kindly, generous, unselfish, sincere, 
considerate of othere; with a heart which was ever ready 
to respond to the call of distress and which sympathized 
with the lowly, with the do\vn-trodden and oppressed; his 
early trials and struggles had not soured his dis]iosition but 
only tended to bi-ing him in closer sympathy with the 
sufferings of mankind. 

As a statesman he was moilerate, patient and •wise; he 
reached his conclusions slowly but his judgment was sound. 
As an orator h© was strong and convincing; he labored 
for ultimate success rather than for any temporary <ir (/(/ 
captuiuhnn triumph. When he rose to speak he began 
slowly and with appai'ent diffidence, but so soon as he 
wanned u]) to the subject he strode on with the strength 
of a giant. Sometimes he was can-ied along by the en- 
thusiam, inspired by his theme, and then he became im- 
passioned and rose to sublime heights; he had the quali- 
ties of mind and heart that nuike the true orator; he 
was not only witty and hmnorous, but to a superlative 
degree he had the eloquence of pathos. He was cogent 
in reasoning, clear and concise in e-xpression; his meaning- 
was never misunderstood, it was never lost nor smothered 
in involved sentences. His vocabTilai'y was not specially 
extensive but his command of langiiage to convey his 
thought was ample and all sufficient. 

There have been oratoi-s more dramatic, more elegant 
in style, far more scliolarly, but none who so deeply 
impressed a living thought upon the nation. Among all 
our public men none is more freqviently quoted; many of 



39 

his sentiments aiul expressions have become liousehold 
words. His Gettysburg Speech has i)assed as a classic into 
tlie literature of our race. 

His literary style was characterized by the deep feeling 
of the man; it was clear and transparent; it wa.s classic 
in its purit}' and at all times felicitous in expression; it 
was foiined on the best models of English prose. The 
Bible, ^Esop's Fables, Robinson Chnisoe and Pilgrims' 
Progress were the books that early fell into liLs hands; 
in later yeare Shakespeare, the greatest dramatic, and 
Bums, the greatest lyric poet in the lang-uag'e, became his 
constant companions; it was under these masters that he 
gi'adually fonned and developed that style that so de- 
lighted his atidiences and so cleai'ly and forcibly conveyed 
his thought. Dr. Johnson said: '"There is in every nation 
a style which never becomes obsolete, a certain mode of 
phraseology so consonant to the analogy and principles 
of its respective language as to remain settled and unal- 
tered. This style is to be sought in the common inter- 
course of life among those who speak only to be undei^ 
stood withoiit ambition of elegance. The polite are al- 
ways catching modish innovations and the learned forsake 
the viilgar, when the vulgar is right, but there is a con- 
vei-sation above gTossness and below refinement whei'e 
propriety resides." It is in this class that we are to place 
Lincoln's style; it was vigorous Anglo-Saxon. "And ol> 
serve," says Emerson, "that all poetiy is wi-itten in the 
oldest and simplest English woi-ds." 

The love of reading was with him a passion, the pursuit 
of knowledge an infatuation. His memory was good, his 
mind impressionable and he retained the greater pai-t of 
what he read. 

His education was obtained by constant, by ceaseless 
application. Although his early yeai-s, as we have seen, 
were suiTounded by the greatest disadvantages, he seized 



40 

every opportunity that offered and treasured every moment 
that oonld be devoted to the acquisition of knowledge and 
the development of his mind; it is said that he read every 
book that conld be borrowed within a cirenit of fifty miles. 
What a precions boon it is to love books, it was 
Edward Gibbon who said that he wonld "not part 
with his love of reading for all tlic wealtli of the Indies." 
A good book is a treasure in itself; it contains the best 
thou"-hts of a master mind; it is the result of a life time 
of study, of observation, of contemplation. To one who 
is fond of reading there sho\ild never come a heavy or a 
tedious hour, through life he communes with the poets, 
the philosophers, the seers, the sages and the mighty men 
of every age, they reveal to him the sentiments, the hopes 
and the aspirations of their souls. That host of writers who 
have illumined the pages of English letters are his friends 
and daily companions. What a choice circle in wliich 

to move. 

Books are a great solace in hours of sorrow and dis- 
appointment, and so they were to Lincoln; when trials 
beset him, when disaster threatened, when enemies were 
relentless, when the world, seemed cold and cmel, and 
when even friends abandoned him, he found comfort and 
encouragement in the pages of his favorite authors. 

Lincoln was at all times most patient under the attacks 
made upon him by his political opponents. In speech 
and press they were often most scurrilous, but he bore 
no resentment. His enemies were bitter, vindictive and re- 
morseless; there is hardly a vile epithet in the vocabulary 
of spite and hate that was not applied to him, but bravely 
and patiently he bore the burd«n through the tempest and 
fury of the night, until at length his eyes beheld the 
breaking of the storm and the glory of the coming day. 

Tlis patriotism was of the purest type, he had an abiding 
faith in the i>eople, and his example will always inspire the 



41 

future with zeal, wtli courage and with liopc. The in- 
fluence of his life, heroic in its efforts for the uplifting of 
the human race, will he felt throughout all time, animating 
and ever encouraging those who hattle for freedom against 
tATanny and oppression. 

He is closer to the hearts, deeper in the affections of 
the people, than any niaai in the history of our public 
life; the more we study his chai-acter the more we are 
impressed with his real greatness and convinced that he 
is tlie most typical man and one of the strongest chai'acters 
produced bv our conditions. He was truly one of the 
great men of the world, whose fame will grow brighter as 
the years increase. 

We have traced the struggle for liberty from the early 
days of the Colonies to the signing of the Declaration of 
Independence, and from that event, through the histoiy of 
the Republic, until the Emancipation Proclamation freefl 
the land from the blight and curse of slavery; it is a long- 
story that tells of suft'ering, of heroic sacrifice and of the 
loss of precious life and treasure. 

The birth of the Republic was, in course of time, in- 
evitable, it was destined to be brought forth out of oppres- 
sion, but the subsequent battle for its integrity and con- 
tinuance was long and bitter; its preservation was moi-e 
difficult to accomplish than even its creation, and to no 
one man do we owe so much as to him whom we honor 
to-night; his was the heart that never despaired, the soul 
that ever sustained. Under his guidance the nation was 
saved and her liberty secured. 

" Amerioa to-dSy 
Binds in her hair 

The olive and the undecaying bay ; 
An adult nation, gloriously fair." 

"The mystic chords of memorv'" have been "touched by 
the better angels of our nature," and harmoniously "swell 



42 

the ckorus of the Union." The Xorth and South, 
forgetting tlie past, liave in sympathy and in senti- 
ment, blended into one nation, they are Imt parts of 
one gTeat whole, th<i sovei-eigiity of the States has 
merged into the natioiiality of the people. The Re- 
public is cemented, we hope, forever, in a connnon love 
and a single purpose. Her flag, the symbol of liberty, 
floats to-day, over a free and a united people, whose in- 
heritance is a continent and whose future is one of promise 
and magnificent possibilities; it waves t(Ki, in a new land, 
far distant from oiii" shores, over a people of foreign blu<i<l 
and strange history, who are not yet able to read its mean- 
ing in the light of its ])ast achievements; .so oppressed have 
they been that change of government means to them only 
change of masters. With that tenderness bom of 
humanity and with that spirit of liberality which 
is the boast of cmr free institutions, let us teach 
its meaning to tliose wlm, because of their igno- 
rance, fail to understand its full significance; may 
it be to them in their political sky the bow of promise, 
may it bring them umler the influence of a new and an 
ennobling civilization and sp<'iire that independence, to 
which they are entitled, and that liberty, under the law, 
which they ha\-e never enjoyed. Let them be taught the 
truth that slavery and tyranny cannot exist under its broad 
aud civilizing folds. 

The Republic, too courageous to shirk her responsibili- 
ties, and with no intention of surrendering her new possess- 
ions, in the Pacific, into the hands of that State from whose 
tyranny she has rescued them, jnoves foi"ward in the van 
of civilization, with the stride and majestic bearing of a 
young giant, her face is turned in the direction of hope and 
promise, and she holds aloft, in the light of the world, her 
stan-y standard resplendent with honor and gloiy. 



k 



